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September 10, 2013

China Cabinet for Paula and The Story of the Perfect Vintage Green

Hiya, I am back again with another custom job for Paula - last week I made over her hall stand and this week I have done her china cabinet, both in the same 'vintage' green - a mix of Annie Sloan Duck Egg and Antibes Green.

I know I am like a dog with a bone about this colour lol - but it really is the most gorgeous green - I just stumbled across it by accident, while having a play with a couple of Annie Sloan paints I had on hand a couple of months ago. When the mixture is wet it looks nothing like the finished, waxed colour, so it was all a bit of a gamble really. I do like to jump into things with both feet so instead of trialling it a small piece (which would have been rather sensible), I launched straight into this bookcase.

As you do.

Thankfully I loved it as soon as the paint hit the timber, and I was so excited when I saw the colour going on, then when it dried, that I just had to get it distressed to see how it would look...even though it was dark outside!

(I have a great workshop but distress my furniture outside, it creates far too much dust to do it inside).

Please tell me I am not the only one to get so excited about painting a piece of furniture that I continue working on it in the dark??? ;)

It seems a lot of you loved the colour as well - the bookcase sold straight away and many people left comments on my Facebook page saying nice things about it - thank you!

The cabinet has glass shelves that I left at Paula's home, so I couldn't have a play with this for the photos...probably just as well, I love it already and if it had my things inside it...it may never leave my place ;)

I masked the glass inside and out in order to do a tidy job. Sometimes for say a mirror I will just paint without masking and then razor the paint off the glass before it cures - in this case that would have been way to messy, given that there are leadlights on the panes.

I didn't remove the masking tape until after I had distressed, waxed and buffed this, in order to protect the glass from being scratched by the sandpaper, and to stop excess wax getting on the glass - messy to clean off!

The insides are all painted, including bits you wouldn't normally need to paint, but do when a mirror is involved - don't want an unpainted bit to be reflected in the mirror!

(Yep the handles are crooked - I haven't tightened them yet, to give the paint and wax a chance to cure a bit first)

I distressed this piece by hand using 240 grit sandpaper and then a fine 3M Softback Sanding Sponge.

These give the most super smooth finish you can imagine, and are very pliable, kind of like a cloth - great for rubbing along mouldings etc.

Stuff with mirrors are hard to photograph, aren't they!

Paula has a beautiful collection of china that lives in this cabinet, and she has promised to share a photo of it refilled once I drop this back to her...when she does, I will be sure to come and add it to this post :)